Peter Kobelt knows what it feels like when all the attention turns to him and his opponent.

The lanky junior’s No. 2 singles match was the deciding factor earlier this year at national indoors against Virginia. While he lost both sets in mid-February, he said he needed that experience to pull through in the second-set tiebreak Saturday against Ray Sarmiento, sealing the victory for Ohio State and knocking off four-time defending NCAA champions Southern Cal at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.

No. 5 Ohio State men’s tennis team mobbed No. 8-ranked Kobelt, who won 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) as natural light was giving away after Ray Sarmiento misplayed a forehand on first match point with Kobelt serving.

“I really made an effort after that (indoor match), in practice matches and actual matches, to really focus on closing out matches and if I was ever back in that situation, I would capitalize,” Kobelt said. “I ended up helping my team advance today.”

Kobelt dictated tempo throughout the match with his quick service games and heavy forehands. Even when he didn’t win the game, at 4-5 in the second set, for example, he pushed No. 16 Sarmiento with his forehand, leading to unforced errors. Kobelt had an opportunity to close out the match then, coming two points away from victory, but he wasn’t able to return Sarmiento’s serves and failed to break.

Ohio State now faces top-ranked UCLA, which handily defeated Duke, in a semifinal at the NCAA Championships on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Trojans are headed home after winning four consecutive years, the first of which was won against the Buckeyes in 2009.

“Even a blind squirrel gets a nut once in a while,” Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker said. “Ohio State tennis beats USC tennis every once in a while. This is a little bit of consolation, that’s for sure, but I’d rather have the big trophy from 2009 sitting at our place.”

The Buckeyes, to start the match, clinched the doubles point in the same manner Kobelt did later: in a deciding-match tiebreak. The No. 90 duo of Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen upset No. 47 Emilio Gomez and Roberto Quiroz 9-8 (7) at No. 2. McCarty and Van Engelen fought off one match point in the tiebreak, and went on to convert one of their own to clinch the doubles point for Ohio State.

USC won the first singles point, but Buckeyes quickly grabbed the lead with a win at No. 1 singles. No. 12 Blaz Rola, who had been battling injury the last month or so, dispatched No. 7 Emilio Gomez 6-1, 6-0. The two teams exchanged points, including a tight two-setter at No. 3 between Yannick Hanfmann of USC and No. 71 Connor Smith at Ohio State. Hanfmann closed it out 7-5, 7-6(4), after Smith fought back from being double break down.

That gave USC its third point, turning all eyes to court No. 2 and the deciding match.

Earlier that day, Georgia’s Nathan Pasha held off three break points late in the second set and broke his opponent in the next game to force a decisive third set, igniting the Georgia faithful. Then it was all cruise control for the sophomore from Atlanta, who defeated Alex Sarkissian of Pepperdine 2-6. 7-5, 6-2.

His victory at No. 2 singles propelled No. 3-ranked Georgia 4-2 to the semifinals Monday afternoon, when it will take on No. 2 Virginia. The Cavaliers defeated Tennessee 4-0 earlier.

Sarkissian was one point away from having a chance to serve for the match and earn a much-needed second point for Pepperdine, but Pasha continued to serve with pace, holding to give him a 6-5 second-set advantage. In the subsequent game, Pasha capitalized on his third break chance to force a third set, one that he would eventually go on to win over a worn-down Sarkissian.

“Our fight and synergy, it’s something we talk about and preach and that’s what brings us together as a team,” Pasha said in a press release. “I affect the courts next to me and they affect me, just with their energy they inspire me, and I try to inspire them so we were down and they had the momentum big time so a little bit of fight got us going and we just took it and rolled with it.”

Pasha’s victory gave Georgia a 2-1 lead at that moment, one that the Bulldogs wouldn’t relinquish. No. 11 Pepperdine captured the double point to begin the match, but Georgia rallied, including a third-set tiebreak win at No. 6 singles.

Georgia, throughout this tournament, has played without then-No. 4-ranked KU Singh, who quit the team three days before the Bulldogs opened up regional play in Athens, Ga. Singh was a member of the Illini tennis team before he transferred in early 2012.

Saturday’s match was a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal in which Pepperdine came from behind to upset Georgia 4-3 in front of a Bulldogs-laden crowd.

Darshan can be reached at [email protected] and @drshnpatel.